Weldment plate stud extender support

ABSTRACT

A spacer support or stud extender having a body portion, a surface engaging portion and a securement to attach the body portion to a weldment plate in tilt-up construction wherein the extender is coupled to a head of a stud depending from a weldment plate with a cup-shaped engaging portion.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/964,143 filed Oct. 13, 2004, which is a divisional of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/272,698 filed Oct. 16, 2002, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,820,390 dated Nov. 23, 2004, which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/777,400 filed Feb. 6, 2001, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,823,635 dated Nov. 30, 2004.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the manufacture of concrete walls usedin tilt-up construction. More particularly, the present invention isdirected to a spacer support that holds a weldment plate in properposition until the wet concrete sets up.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In commercial construction, as well as in residential construction wherewood is at a premium, builders are increasingly using tilt-upconstruction, that is, they are pouring concrete walls in forms as theylay on the ground, floor or other surface, and then tilting them up intothe desired position after the concrete has cured. One of the featuressuch construction affords is the placement of a weldment plate on onesurface of the wall so that structural support beams, and the like, maybe welded/secured between adjacent walls. In current practice, theconcrete wall is poured and then the weldment plate is “floated” on thetop of the wet cement. Since these steel plates are denser than the wetconcrete, they tend to sink below the surface. Accordingly, it sometimesbecomes necessary to allow the concrete to take a partial set and thenattempt to push the weldment plate into the desired position. Neither ofthese current practices provides effective quality control and theresults often are not those desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The device of the present invention comprises a spacer support thatengages the support surface on which the concrete wall is poured and aweldment plate holding it in the desired position relative to thatsurface during the curing of the concrete. The spacer support comprisesan elongate body portion having a length substantially equal to thethickness of the concrete wall minus a dimension of the weldmentextending in the direction of the thickness of the concrete wall; asurface engaging portion for contacting the surface on which theconcrete wall is poured and supporting the weldment in a positionappropriately spaced from that surface; means for attaching said bodyportion to the weldment, wherein the weldment will be maintained in adesired position as wet concrete is poured and sets up. For more detailson previous embodiments, see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/272,698filed Oct. 16, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,390 dated Nov. 23, 2004,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/777,400 filed Feb. 6, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,635 dated Nov.30, 2004, which are incorporated by reference herein in total.

Weldment plates take different forms: some are simply rectangular metalplates with two smooth surfaces. Other weldment plates are equipped withprotrusions on one surface that improve the adhesion of the plate to thewall enabling greater weight to be suspended therefrom. Theseprotrusions typically take the form of a plurality of Nelson studswelded to the surface of the plate that is to be embedded in theconcrete. These studs can have shaft diameters of ¼″, ⅜″, ½″, ⅝″ withhead diameters graduated by ¼″ increments between ½″ and 1-¼″. Forweldment plates that have no protrusions, the support spacer will haveadditional length (as compared to those engaging the heads of Nelsonstuds) and be equipped with a flat head that can be adhered to thenether surface of the weldment plate by an adhesive such as LIQUID NAILS(a registered trademark of Macco). The spacer supports will be used oneach weldment plate positioned to provide balance in the wet concrete.The embodiment of support spacer engaging the Nelson stud will have aplurality (three shown) of fingers that grip the head of the stud, thefingers having portions that snap beneath the head and retain the spacersupport in position while the concrete sets up. This configuration willbe made in a plurality of sizes to accommodate the various sizes ofNelson stud heads.

More particularly, the invention herein incorporates means for attachingthe elongate body portion to the weldment plate projection head andcompises a cup-shaped portion configured so that the projection head canslide on top of the upper end planar portion of the elongate bodyportion into the cup-shaped portion. The device is preferably designedand dimensioned so as to provide a relatively snug fit sufficient tohold the projection head in position. If needed, a shim can be placed toprovide for the snug fit if larger devices are used. Holes or aperturesmay optionally be provided on the side surface of the cup-shaped portionand on its upper planar portion forming the cup-shaped portion. Theseholes allow for concrete contact surface areas to the head of the studhead.

The spacer support is preferably made of a material selected from thegroup consisting of plastic, metal, and powdered metal. The endcontacting the support is preferably pointed to minimize the surfacetreatment needed for the wall and, typically, the wall may simply bepainted, papered or given any other conventional treatment, without thetips of the spacer/supports affecting the treatment. The length of thebody portion of the spacer support may be adjusted in either of twoways: the surface may be scored at any of a plurality of conventionallengths, and the spacer support cut to the length appropriate for thewall thickness with which it is used, or the spacer support may be madeof material suitable for cutting in the field with available cuttingsnips.

Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the presentinvention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art aftera reading of the following specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiment(s) of the present invention is/are described inconjunction with the associated drawings in which like features areindicated with like reference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view conceptual depiction of the present inventionshown assembled on a Nelson stud;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the spacer support shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is conceptual depiction of the stud extenders in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The present invention is a weldment plate spacer support or studextender, which is generally depicted in FIGS. 1-3, and is generallyrepresented by the numeral 10. The stud extender comprises an elongatedbody portion 22 having a top planar portion 28, a surface engagingportion 24, and means 26 for attaching the spacer support to weldmentplate 11. In this embodiment, weldment plate 11 includes projections 15which may take the form of Nelson studs welded to the surface 13 ofweldment plate 11 to be embedded in the concrete 17. Body portion 22 isof a length substantially equal to the thickness “t” of the concretewall 18 minus a dimension of the weldment plate 11 extending in adirection of the thickness of the concrete wall 18. In this case, thedimension of the weldment plate extending in the direction of thethickness of wall 18 includes the thickness of plate 12 as well as thelength of Nelson stud 15. Nelson studs come in a plurality of sizes andlengths. Common diameters include ¼″, ⅜″, ½″, ⅝″ with head diameters of½″, ¾″, 1″ and 1-¼″ respectively. The heads 16 also vary in depth havinglengths of 0.187 inch, 0.281 inch, 0.312 inch, and 0.312 inch,respectively, for the diameters listed here. The length of body portion22 will be designed to position the weldment plate 12 where desired,typically with upper surface 14 flush with the surface 19 of wall 18.

Surface engaging portion 24 preferably comes to a point or taperedportion 25 so as to minimize the amount of weldment spacer support thatprotrudes on surface 21. Accordingly, minimal accommodation will benecessary to treat the points 25 on wall 18. In fact, it is anticipatedthat the painting, papering or other treatment provided wall surface 21will adequately cover the points 25. It is preferred that the length ofbody portion 22 will be adjustable. One such means can be the cutting ofbody portion 22 to the desired length to place weldment plate 12 flushwith the designed wall surface 19 once concrete 17 is poured. Tofacilitate this cutting (or breaking), body 22 may be provided withscoring lines 40 at one or more conventional wall thicknesses/studlengths so the point 25 may be maintained.

The material from which weldment plate spacer support is made isselected from the group consisting of plastic, metal, and powderedmetal. It is envisioned that a durable, tough plastic material such asnylon or polypropylene, possibly with glass or carbon fiberreinforcement will be suitable for this application and provide the mostcost effective means of solving this problem. It is, however, possiblethat for certain applications, the strength requirements will dictatethat the weldment plate spacer support 10 be manufactured from metalincluding but not limited to powdered metal. The spacer support 10 ofthe present invention could be cast or machined from aluminum, fromexample.

Means for attaching body portion 22 to weldment plate 11 comprises acup-shaped portion 26 configured so that the head 16 of the weldmentplate stud 15 can slide on top of the planar portion 28 of the elongatedbody portion 22 into the cup-shaped portion 26. It is dimensioned so asto receive the projection head 16. Preferably the cup-shaped portion 26is dimensioned so as to provide a relatively snug fit sufficient to holdthe head 16 of the stud 15 extending downwardly from weldment plate 12in position. However, if the vertical dimension of the back orupstanding wall 26 b forming the cup-shaped portion 26 is greater thanthat of the height of the projection head 15, then a shim, washer ordonut-like piece such as that described in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat.No. 6,820,390 dated Nov. 23, 2004, can be used to make the fit snug.Holes or apertures 26 a may optionally be provided on an upstanding wall26 b forming a back of the cup-shaped portion 26 and on its upper planarportion 26c forming the cup-shaped portion. These apertures provide formore concrete contact surface areas to the projection head 16 of stud15.

In use (see FIG. 3), stud extender supports 10 are attached to weldmentplate 11 as by the cup-shaped portion in which the projection heads 16are securely engaged. The length of spacer supports 10 will have beenpreviously adjusted to position the surface 14 at the desired referenceplane with respect to upper surface 19 of concrete wall 18. The thuslyequipped weldment plate 11 is situated inside concrete forms on surfacewhich may, for example, be a plastic sheeting material, and concrete 17poured into forms. Weldment plate spacer supports 10 hold plates 11 inthe desired position while the concrete 17 sets up. When the concrete 17has properly set, tilt-up wall 18 can be uprighted and secured inposition. The smallness of points 25 will have minimal/no effect on thesurface treatment required to finish wall surface 2 1.

Various changes, alternatives and modifications will become apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art following a reading of the foregoingspecification. It is intended that any such changes, alternatives andmodifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims beconsidered part of the present invention.

1. A device for securing to a head portion of a weldment plate projection to support the weldment plate during the formation of a concrete wall, said device comprising: an elongate body portion having a top planar surface on which a weldment plate projection head is placed, wherein the elongate body portion has a length capable of being adjusted to be substantially equal to a thickness of a concrete wall to be poured minus a dimension of the weldment plate extending in a direction of the thickness of the concrete wall; a surface engaging portion for contacting a surface on which the concrete wall is poured and supporting the weldment plate in a position appropriately spaced from that surface; and means for attaching said elongate body portion to the weldment plate projection head comprising a cup-shaped portion configured so that said projection head can slide on top of said planar portion of said elongate body portion into said cup-shaped portion.
 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said cup-shaped portion is dimensioned so as to provide a relatively snug fit sufficient to hold the projection head in position.
 3. The device according to claim 1, further comprising: two or more apertures along an upstanding wall forming a back of the cup-shaped portion.
 4. The device according to claim 1, further comprising: two or more apertures along an upper planar portion forming said cup-shaped portion.
 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein said length of said elongate body portion is adjustable.
 6. The device according to claim 5, wherein said length is adjustable by manually removing an excess length.
 7. The device according to claim 1, wherein said surface engaging portion includes a section which tapers to a point to minimize surface treatment of the concrete wall needed to accommodate said device.
 8. The device according to claim 1, wherein a material for said device is selected from a group consisting of plastic, metal, powdered metal and combinations thereof.
 9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the projections are Nelson studs welded to the nether side of the plate member. 